Friday, October 5, 2007

And I Feel Fine (The End of the World Blog)

I was thinking about the end of the world. Which is stupid, I know. Weird, definitely, I know. Depressing, at least. I know. On the other hand, I've come to think, maybe it's good for me to think about those things every once in a while. Not to get sucked into that whole mess of thought; but to graze it, maybe, just enough to get a cross-reference for where I am in life, and for where I want to be.

When I think about the end of the world, the apocolypse, the second-coming for some, a lot of things come to mind: Movies for one (Land of the Dead, On the Beach, and of course everyone remembers Armageddon. The epitome of shameless blockbusters. With Liv Tyler. She's hot. And Ben Affleck. He cries. Which is weird. And Bruce dies. Which should've been sad.). I think of all the Bible stories I was told as a kid (People disappearing, mass destruction, a dude called the Anti-Christ being the biggest punk... EVER.) I think of popular songs (I can only remember two right now: The classic It's the End of the World As We Know It by REM and the latest tried-and-true radio-friendly hit from Matchbox Twenty, How Far We've Come). The last couple days has also brought thoughts of a certain video game (I think you might've heard of Halo 3? What better way to experience mankind's last days than to do it kicking ass?)

What most of these things have in common is their unwavering portrayal of mass chaos, things blowing up, people dying, etc. Don't get me wrong; I'll be damned (pardon the pun) if I don't get at least a few good explosions and someone maybe getting knocked unconscious or something, before I die. But really? The scariest moment in history is going to be the same thing we've seen (albeit on a smaller level) in human history for thousands of years? Something maybe only a little worse than what some random geek at Bungie Studios could simulate with the latest in consumer technology?

I mean no disrespect for those who have seen and known the horrors of war (or for that matter, the geek at Bungie), but somehow it seems a little anti-climactic that our final moment is going to be the "same ol' same ol'," just on steroids and everywhere.

I had a couple near-death experiences growing up. One was a close call with a drunk driver speeding down the wrong lane in the dead of night. Aside from my friend squealing in the seat next to me, the most distinct memory I have of that moment is me thinking, "God. This isn't as scary as I thought. Maybe dying's not the worst thing that could ever happen to me." Yeah, it'd suck. But if you're a Christian, you get the whole eternal life basket, complete with unending euphoria and long discussions with the likes of Gandhi and Moses. If you're an atheist, you get the tricky prize of nothingness. That is, you lose everything you've ever loved or worked for or enjoyed on some level; but you also lose the ability to regret that loss, or in any way reflect upon it. Really, the worst part about dying is who you leave behind; and if everybody's dying, what's the big deal?

I know, I know. I'm belittling something that that is very serious and very inevitable and very difficult to deal with if you're the one left behind. I know, because I've lost friends and grandparents, too, and it blows to lose something that you never again have the choice to even try to get back. Death, in that sense, is not something for the dying to experience, but rather for the living (is that a quote?). Even still, we recover. There are worse things, I think.

So what's the one thing that trumps everything else, that's so vital to each of us that it makes the apocolypse more terryifying than anything we've ever known? Our soul.

"Armageddon is inside of all of us." If that's not a classic rock lyric already, it should be. The worse thing that could be thrown at me isn't a hurling ball of flame, or a bullet, or an asteroid the size of Texas. It's something that tears at who I am, that disintegrates my desire to be human. Something that gets under my skin. Something undefinable.

That, to me, is the end of the world. All the chaos and mass destruction, but focused inward. And that, to me, is more terryifying than death.

So live well. Don't be a punk....

Right, so now I've either bored you or depressed you or both, and I apologize. Sort of.

That pretty much sums everything up. Im sure there are people that are scared of the end and others that aren't. I am one of those who doesnt fear the end. I believe that when you are done fulfilling your purpose here of Earth, its your time to go on to the next level where you will be rewarded. That blog was very well written.

I think about life and death and the end of the world quite often. Ive heard theories, and opinions, but i have my own ideas. Ive had a cousin attempt suicide recently, and a good friend died a in a shakespeare type tradgic car accident about two years ago. She had just gotten married at an army base camp when her husband got home on leave. They where on their way back three days later and a vehicle flew over the median and srtuck her car, instanly killing her. Her husband suffered minor injuries.Ive been in an accident too, and the main reason i wanted to comment was because of what you said about death not being scary. I was in the back seat passenger side of a car and the driver pulled out on a 55 mph highway infront of an oncoming semi. we were t-boned and then ended up in the ditch. My friends in the front seat almosted died but luckily everyone survived. At the time of the accident, when i noticed the semi coming, the only thought that crossed my mind was that i was going to be in an accident, like it was as simple as geting a picture taken. Maybe it was a shock reaction, but nothing of danger or concern crossed my mind until after i got out of the cart and realized my pevlis and collar bone were broken. I was concious the whole time and the experience was life changing. It wasnt automatic or 'magical', but after that accident four years ago things have really changed in my outlook of things. hey im sorry this comment is so long but your entry really intrigued me.

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About Me

I am not, as my blog name describes, a turtle. Nor am I always as cheerful as that nomer may suggest. I do like turtles; I have, at times, considered what life would be like as a turtle, and I have ultimately concluded that, if I were indeed a turtle, and with the capability of thought and emotion, I would be a happy one. That statement, as well as this one I suppose, is completely irrelevant. I write sometimes to write, but most times for the feeling of it--or a grade. I observe, and then splendor in my own wit at having observed and shared with the world. In that way my writing, too, has become irrelevant. My goal, perhaps, then would be to counter this tendency, whether through college or blogging or my own tangled thought process. That is, if I have time.